Council talks preliminary budget, timeline for Highland Park shooting memorials

The Highland Park City Council has proposed setting a $2 million budget for the construction of the places of remembrance for those impacted by the July 4, 2022 shooting.

Councilmembers discussed the budget and other details of the place of remembrance on Monday, Dec. 15, their final regular Committee of the Whole meeting of 2025.

Discussions and planning for the place of remembrance has been ongoing for three years. Earlier this year, the council agreed to a recommendation from consultants to create two public spaces for remembrance and reflection: a primary memorial in the rose garden adjacent to City Hall, and what was described as a “subtle, secondary” place of remembrance at Port Clinton Plaza, near the actual site of the attack that killed seven and injured more than 50 others.

City staff on Dec. 15 were seeking guidance from the council on two points surrounding the memorials: how much the preliminary construction budget should be and whether the city should change its approach to fundraising.

Emily Taub, Highland Park’s assistant city manager, said during the meeting that the council previously said it would not support actively reaching out to the public for fundraising, but if an individual or group wanted to make a donation on their own, City staff would accept it.

The City has already received a $1 million restricted donation from John and Mindy Gray, co-founders of the Gray Foundation, toward the place of remembrance.

All councilmembers voiced support for continuing the current fundraising policy.

Mayor Nancy Rotering said she did not feel it was right to ask for money “from the very people who are still working through this kind of trauma.”

She suggested using money from the city’s reserves to allocate funds for any public memorials.

“I think we can come up with a reasonable cap,” she said. “I think we can get the funds out of those reserves. It’s a one-time use that’s an appropriate use of reserves and (we can) move forward in terms of providing this for our community.”

Councilmember Anthony Blumberg suggested $2 million as an initial budget, saying he proposed that amount after looking at what other communities affected by mass violence have done with their own memorials. He said it appeared that the median amount was between $1.5 and $2.25 million.

“$2 million seemed to get us … to something that will serve the purpose and that will be permanent,” Blumberg said. “One of the things I think is important is that we spend enough money that whatever we put there is going to last a long time.”

Councilmembers all voiced agreement with setting $2 million as the initial construction budget.

Councilmember Annette Lidawer added that she would like to see the existing infrastructure used as much as possible when building the memorials.

“One of the things I love about the fact that the rose garden was chosen for the main area is it’s a garden, and it’s beautiful,” she said.

City staff also said they have come to a draft agreement with design firm SWA, and that it will be on the agenda for the next City Council meeting, set for Jan. 12, 2026, for approval.

Rotering also said that she would like to see the places of remembrance completed by July 4, 2027, the fifth anniversary.

“My sense is nobody’s looking to build the Taj Mahal, so we don’t need a budget that is for the Taj Mahal,” she said, “but we want to do it well, we want to do it thoughtfully, we want to do it in a way that’s reflective of this community and this experience.”

The Record is a nonprofit, nonpartisan community newsroom that relies on reader support to fuel its independent local journalism.

Become a member of The Record to fund responsible news coverage for your community.

Already a member? You can make a tax-deductible donation at any time.